What is a Smartphone? Indeed you are used to hearing the word “smartphone” for some time now. And if you ever wondered what exactly it is or why we call it that, and how it is different from a conventional cell phone, you will be happy to know that you are not the only one, and here we will answer all your questions.

A smartphone is (in its literal translation from English) a “Smart Phone” you can call it whatever you prefer. Some companies decide to call it by its name in Spanish and others in English (because of how popular the term has become through many other means ).

What makes a phone smart is carrying out various functions and conventional phone calls and sending messages. Some examples are browsing the internet and installing applications.

Definition Smartphone

A smartphone is a cell phone with a touch screen and a robust operating system. Users can connect to the internet, install applications and carry out many of the activities they could do on a computer.

But to fully understand all the features that make a smartphone savvy, we wrote this guide.

In the beginning, there were cell phones and, as an additional device, personal digital assistants, also known as “Palm.”

Cell phones were used only for making calls, and Palms could store contact details and to-do lists – and sync with the computer. Eventually, the Palms got wireless connectivity and got to send and receive emails. Cell phones, meanwhile, reached into the messaging field and later began to add more features of personal assistants to become Smartphones.

Features of a Smartphone

Although there is no standard definition of the term “Smartphone” throughout the industry, we believed it was relevant to point out what the trends indicate that a Smartphone is.

Operating System

All smartphones are run through an operating system. This same allows running different types of applications. iPhone phones operate through an operating system called iOS, BlackBerry through BlackBerry OS, HP through WebOS, and the most popular and used by dozens of brands, Google’s Android.

Apps

Although almost all conventional cell phones already include some software. Even the most basic models, with an address book or contact manager, a smartphone can do much more. Applications are small programs created specifically for mobile devices. They allow a more adapted and smoother experience when accessed through a smartphone. For example, we could easily access Facebook from our smartphone using the browser, but the experience is similar to what we get when using the application.

Web Navigation

Using your smartphone to surf the internet is not something that has always been available. It is another of the great features that a smartphone offers. Sure, based on your device’s characteristics, you can get higher speeds. But in general, all smartphones today allow you to surf at least 3g networks. The applications are beneficial, but they are not always necessary. There is a web browser for all these types of situations (Chrome, Opera, Safari, etc.).

QWERTY Keyboard

Gone are when we were forced to use a digit keyboard where each one had three letters to write on our cell phone. Although many conventional cell phones still have this feature, smartphones no longer. Today’s smart devices have a qwerty keyboard. It is the format that computer keyboards also use and offer a more comfortable experience when typing.

Multimedia Messaging

When it was something in the movies to see how photos of products or scenarios were sent in real-time between police officers and seemed to be the last wonder, later the multimedia messages arrived, it was not attractive. Today, thanks to smartphones, we can send high-quality images and even videos in real-time through messaging services.

These are the most relevant characteristics that define a Smartphone today. Technology advances so fast that possibly tomorrow will be another and within a month another. We do not know what is next, but yes, all these changes and the benefits they bring us will always be welcome.

Also read: What is Cloud Computing? – Definition, Uses, And More